Malaysian Gooner

So the transfer window has closed and unsurprisingly we have failed in our attempt to sign a new goalkeeper. I’m not going to lie, I wanted a new ‘keeper just as much as the next Gooner. Many Gooners have, in my opinion, gone overboard; proclaiming “THERE GOES OUR TITLE CHANCES”.

Although signing Schwarzer would have been nice, but I agree with many Gooners who have said that signing the Australian was not so much signing a better ‘keeper than signing a ‘keeper with a clean slate. Almunia is no world class ‘keeper but then again neither is Schwarzer. And for anyone who tells me that Schwarzer is an experienced international, if Almunia were Australian and not Spanish, he might have been at the World Cup especially considering that Schwarzer had a nightmare in Africa.

Almunia’s weakness is his decision making. As a shot stopper, he has proved that he is amongst the best in the business. To be honest, as many bloggers have pointed out, there weren’t that many ‘keepers on the market that were better than him in the first place. Think about it, Almunia is excellent at one on ones. His weakness is our team’s weakness, he has a defence that doesn’t protect him enough. Hopefully, that has been ratified with our new signings.

And in response to those who say we need a world class ‘keeper to win the title, I ask HOW HAS HISTORY PROVEN THAT?

Our last two trophies, the FA Cup in 2005 and the unbeaten team of 2004 was won with Jens “Mad Jens” Lehmann in goal. Lehmann was a world class shot stopper but there was a reason we called him Mad Jens. He flapped at corners, sprinted out of his goal only to miss the ball, and fought with opposition players so much that he is the only goalkeeper I remember to get suspended for 5 yellow cards in a season.

Go further back to the 2001/2002 double winning team and we had such a horrible season in goal that all 3 of our goalkeepers (Seaman, Wright and Taylor) won championship medals! Seaman was suffering with injuries and made many howlers culminating in his World Cup performance a few months later against Brazil. Wright proved to be good but inconsistent while Taylor was the best third choice ‘keeper in the league and nothing more.

Want to go further back, how about history repeating itself?
In 1983 Arsenal signed John Lukic as a long term replacement for ‘keeper Pat Jennings. Lukic was a solid ‘keeper but nobody would say that he was world class. Nonetheless, Lukic and Arsenal won the title famously on the last day of the season at Anfield in 1989. Almunia was signed as a long term replacement for Lehmann in 2004 and took over the gloves from the German midway through the 2007/2008 season.

So history has shown that if anything, the one position that Arsenal have not needed a world class player has been in goal. At the same time, in all those championship winning teams we had great defences with the likes of Tony Adams and Sol Campbell to carry them. If Arsenal are to win the title this season, it will not be because of the person in goal, it will be because we defended well as a team.

Arsene Wenger has been quoted as saying that transfers have become increasingly difficult for them this season. It comes as no surprise why this is the case. With the Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona going further in debt ever time they sign a player, and English Premier League clubs, with their large TV monies, having spent money they haven’t even received yet, the places where Wenger usually picks up rough diamonds have been rolling in the cash.

The French Ligue 1, often considered the best of the second tier of European leagues, has been lucky enough to have one of the best Youth Academies in the world in Clairefontaine. With little need for transfer fees, and with the increasing presence of French sides in European competition, French sides have been able to pay their star players large salaries comparative to that of Premier League sides in order to keep them from jumping ship to the top European clubs.

Today we see the effects of the shrewd financial management of the French sides. When Arsenal signed Samir Nasri, an unknown outside of France at the time, Arsenal not only had to fork out £12m on the Marseille star, they also had to MATCH the £60,000 Marseille was paying him. This summer, Arsenal has been forced to pay £10m for Laurent Koscielny, a player with only a year’s experience in Ligue 1. The reason Arsenal had to pay so much, simply because Lorient, the side he played for, had no need to sell as they were on sound financial footing.

It is no secret that Arsene’s best scouting network is in France and Wenger was forced to look abroad for his next signing. He signed Sebastien Squillaci, a Frenchman playing for Sevilla.

Perhaps Wenger has come to realise that he can no longer look to France for cheap alternatives. The only problem though is by looking outside of France he loses his biggest advantage; almost every Ligue 1 player dreams of playing for Ligue 1’s 21st side, Arsenal. The same cannot be said for players from Germany or Spain.

These (edit) are just my thoughts however. What do you guys think? Are we done with France?

Ivan Gazidis was in attendance at Monaco for Arsenal’s draw in the Champions League first round. Arsenal received a relatively easy draw. Manchester United will have another ‘Battle of Britain’ with Rangers. Chelsea will not only have to visit French champions Marseille but they also have to travel to Moscow to play Spartak. Spurs will be welcomed to the Champions League by defending champions Inter and also German side Werder Bremen. The group of death though is Group G with AC Milan, Real Madrid, Auxerre and Ajax.

Group A

Inter Milan

Werder Bremen

Tottenham Hotspurs

Twente

Group B

Lyon

Benfica

Hapoel Tel-Aviv (ISR)

Schalke 04

Group C

Manchester United

Valencia

Rangers

Bursaspor (TUR)

Group D

Barcelona

Panathinaikos

Kobenhavn

Rubin Kazan

Group E

Bayern Munich

AS Roma

Basel

CFR Cluj

Group F

Chelsea

Marseille

Spartak Moscow

MSK Zilina (SVK)

Group G

AC Milan

Real Madrid

Ajax Amsterdam

Auxerre

Group H

Arsenal

Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)

Sporting Braga (POR)

FK Partizan (SRB)

Julio Cesar of Inter Milan picked up the UEFA Club Goalkeeper of the year award.

Fellow Inter star Maicon won the UEFA Club Defender of the year award.

Gianfranco Zola awarded the Midfielder of the year award to Wesley Sneijder.

Inter completed the sweep with Diego Milito picking up the Forward of the year award and the coveted UEFA Club Footballer of the year award.

PS: Anyone else foresee Spurs finishing bottom of their group?

So the Champions League draw takes place tonight at 12am (+8GMT) and the most anticipated balls to be drawn out of the bowl will be that of of debutants Spurs in Pot 3 and Spanish giants Real Madrid who, due to their weak performances in the Champions League over the last 5 seasons, have dropped down to Pot 2.

Already teams are trying to pick out what would be the best and worst draws for themselves. What intrigues me is that many fans from European teams see Arsenal as their best bet from Pot 1. Take off the rose tinted glasses and they may just be right.

Pot 1 consists of holders Inter Milan, La Liga champions Barcelona, English champions Chelsea, 2008 winners Manchester United, last season’s losing finalists Bayern Munich, AC Milan, Lyon, and of course Arsenal. Most Gooners would argue that Arsenal, at face value, are better than both Lyon and Italian has-been’s AC Milan. I would, at least.

Unfortunately, most of Europe don’t see it that way. Lyon have, despite their poor domestic performances, been a consistent player among Europe’s elite. Every season, just when you think they’re past it, they gain another scalp over a European giant. Add to that their acquisition of French talisman Yoann Gourcuff, they must be feared this season. AC Milan may not be the powerhouse they once were but they have always been a formidable side, rich with European history, in the Champions League (when they qualify that is).

So it is somewhat understandable for teams in Pot 2, 3 and 4 to want us. Especially Real Madrid who have an abysmal record against Lyon. But is this a case of ‘be careful what you wish for…’?

I certainly hope so. With the imminent arrival of Sebastien Squilacci, we have successful replaced and, in my opinion, improved our defensive line. Wenger also seems intent on addressing our goalkeeping issue. Whoever he brings in, it should be an improvement to what we already have. As long as he brings someone in. With these signings we have perhaps signed players in positions we were all thinking when we keep repeating our mantra, “Arsenal are just 2 signings away from challenging”.

Question marks remain raised as to whether we need cover for Alex Song in the DM position but it seems that Wenger believes that the best replacement in Song’s absence would be to not play a DM at all. Instead playing 2 central midfielders in withdrawn positions further behind the playmaker (Fabregas, Nasri, or Rosicky).

We will find out our ‘Road to Wembley’ soon.

Thomas Vermalen starts as captain as Arsenal take on Legia Warsaw.

Arsene gave starts to both Frimpong and Wilshere while Koscielny started alongside Vermaelen.

(18min) Legia Warsaw have taken the lead against Arsenal with a shot from long range. Legia have certainly started the brighter of the two sides and have looked threatening.

(34min) Fabianski trips on Vermaelen’s foot as Legia Warsaw double their lead from a corner. 2-0.

(37min) Vermaelen and Rosicky both miss their headers and Warsaw find their third. 3-0.

(39min) Chamakh pulls one back for Arsenal. Keeper could have done better. 3-1.

(HT) Arsenal go into the break 3-1 down. Nasri has been phenomenal but his team mates have let him down.

(46min) CopyNPaste comes on for Fabianski. Gibbs also on for Frimpong. Vela on for Rosicky. Eboue for Walcott.

(50min) Eboue..the God heads at the back post from a free kick. 3-2.

(62min) Two quick fire goals from Eboue (great finish) and Gibbs (beat the offside trap) and suddenly we aren’t crap. 4-3!

(76min) 4-4. What the fuck?! Defence sleeping.

(83min) 5-4, Emmanuel-Thomas scores. Two minutes later, ‘keeper blunder from a freekick and Nasri gets the goal he deserves! 6-4.

(90min) They scored again. -.-”

Pictures and the starting line up can be seen here.

Match report will come when Wenger buys a ‘keeper.

(18min) Legia Warsaw have taken the lead against Arsenal with a shot from long range. Legia have certainly started the brighter of the two sides and have looked threatening.

(34min) Fabianski trips on Vermaelen’s foot as Legia Warsaw double their lead from a corner. 2-0.

(37min) Vermaelen and Rosicky both miss their headers and Warsaw find their third. 3-0.

(39min) Chamakh pulls one back for Arsenal. Keeper could have done better. 3-1.

(HT) Arsenal go into the break 3-1 down. Nasri has been phenomenal but his team mates have let him down.

(46min) CopyNPaste comes on for Fabianski. Gibbs also on for Frimpong. Vela on for Rosicky. Eboue for Walcott.

(50min) Eboue..the God heads at the back post from a free kick. 3-2.

(62min) Two quick fire goals from Eboue (great finish) and Gibbs (beat the offside trap) and suddenly we aren’t crap. 4-3!

(76min) 4-4. What the fuck?! Defence sleeping.

(83min) 5-4, Emmanuel-Thomas scores. Two minutes later, ‘keeper blunder from a freekick and Nasri gets the goal he deserves! 6-4.

Pictures and the starting line up can be seen here.

Thomas Vermalen starts as captain as Arsenal take on Legia Warsaw.

It is almost like finding a needle in a hay stack isn’t it? You sit down at the computer, click on your favourite news aggregator, and try to find an article that is not about the Cesc saga. The needle I saw today, was a piece from a Spurs blog. A refreshing article on the future of youth football which got me thinking.

As all Gooners know, when Arsenal decided that the club had grown too big for Highbury, we were about to go through a few years, at least, of financial frugality. Despite what the board and Arsene were saying, we knew that Wenger could and perhaps would not compete financially with Manchester United. And the injection of riches at Chelsea, and more recently Man City didn’t make things any easier. Arsene set about his youth project, purchasing young players whose price tags would not fall instantly like experienced professionals, and nurturing talents in our youth system instead of making other clubs richer by buying theirs. It’s been 5 years since the youth project started, with the sale of Patrick Vieira. But besides the paying off the debts, we haven’t achieved much out of project. Arsene would have probably seen a trophy as a bonus, but the youngsters we ‘imported’ came and went, and our much publicised youth academy seemed to be a breeding ground for players good enough for the championship, not championship winning players.

5 years later, it seems that the youth project has come to an end (or maybe that’s just what some of us Gooners choose to believe). Ironically, this season looks genuinely like the season where our youngsters look like making the step up. Jack Wilshere’s rise to the first team seems all set to be complete. He looks just as capable as any of those players on the pitch. Kieran Gibbs looked impressive at the Emirates Cup despite only just returning from a serious injury. His better crossing and some would say better defending than Clichy means that the Frenchman has a battle on his hands for the coveted left back place. Many people have said that Jay Emmanuel-Thomas’ versatility has worked against him but when you’re a youngster fighting for a place on the subs bench for one of England’s best clubs, perhaps being versatile isn’t a bad thing. I have a strong feeling that there will be a place for JET on the subs bench quite often this season. He is far from the finished article as pre-season has proven, but this kid has bags of potential and looks worthy of the red and white shirt.

To be honest, I wrote this article with one particular youngster in mind, Emmanuel Frimpong (Arsene really likes ‘em Emmanuels, doesn’t he?). After the Emirates Cup, Arsene revealed that he considered dipping into the transfer market but had changed his mind after watching Frimpong (and Wilshere) impress in midfield. Frimpong looked excellent and perhaps the fact that he came through the academy will mean that he will not go through the growing pains Alex Song went through as he matured in the first team.

Whether it is this season or the next, it may just been the optimism of this average Gooner, but I sincerely think we are on the cusp of our own Golden Generation here. A Gooner can dream, and my dream is that 5 years from now, I see Vermaelen leading to glory an army of red and white with the likes of Wilshere, Gibbs, and a keeper whose name I’ll never be able to pronounce.

And as Thomas lifts the Premiership trophy over his head in front of  60,000 screaming Gooners, I’ll turn to the guy next to me and say, “Arsene really does know best.”

Arsenal were held to a draw at the Emirates Stadium today in a match that the Gunners should have probably won rather easily.

The day started off with Celtic scoring 2 goals in 8 minutes as they held Lyon to a 2-2 draw but the second match at the Emirates proved more entertaining.

Arsenal started the game brightly as Nasri continued his pre-season form by playing the Cesc role to perfection. He started in midfield alongside Frimpong and Wilshere. Behind them were Eboue, Vermaelen, Koscielny and Gibbs. Up front were Chamakh with Rosicky and Arshavin on his right and left respectively. Fabianski started in goal and wold play there for the full 90 minutes.

Arsenal started off strong with Chamakh putting himself about very well. It might just be him trying to impress on pre-season but he looks like a real workhorse. Even better than theBarnDoor before he got his contract renewed. Nasri and Arshavin were combining well with Chamakh but the most impressive person going forward in the first 20 minutes, and even the half for that matter, was Gibbs who constantly found space behind the Milan defence on the left.

On 36 minutes, Arshavin gained possession of the balla round the half way line and decided to run and keep running, beating numerous Milan men in the process before playing a through ball which put Chamakh through on goal down the middle. The Moroccan slid in and finished well to give us the lead. Good finish and great play by Arshavin.

Four minutes later Nasri beat the offside trap and found himself with room on the right byline, he danced around a Milan defender before playing the ball back to Chamakh but Marouane’s shot goes straight at the ‘keeper.

The other end of the pitch Fabianski has very little to do. Pato took a long shot on 41 which beat Fabianski and found the top corner…of the crossbar.

Arsenal made 3 changes at half time, Sagna on for Eboue, Chichy on for Gibbs, and Walcott on for Rosicky. Walcott had his usual issues with crosses and didn’t contribute too much to be honest although he did have a shot saved by the ‘keeper.

The tiring Arshavin went off for Vela on 61 and suddenly Arsenal burst into life again. The Mexican stepping up the pace. On 68, Djourou comes on for Frimpong and plays in midfield. A sign for the future? I doubt it. Arsene just probably wants to give Djourou some game time without taking of Koscielny so the Frenchman can improve his match fitness. Expect Djourou to start at the back tomorrow alongside Nordtveit. Anyway, Djourou didn’t have much to do as Arsenal were doing all the attacking.

While on the topic of Koscielny, he does look small, even in HD. But beside Vermaelen, who was immense today, he looked assured and calm.

76 minutes and a Milan free kick (how predictable) from the left finds the shortest player on the pitch in Pato who nods it past Fabianski. Can’t blame Fabianski, can blame the defence. Not sure who was supposed to mark the tiny Brazilian (edit: not Argentine, sorry) though. To be fair to the defence they moped up quite a few of Milan’s corners quite easily but apparently free kicks are a different case altogether.

Randall who came on for Chamakh had a great chance to give us the lead on 79 but he missed a sitter, twice. Some might say the ‘keeper made a great double save but he had the whole goal to hit at (that’s how much space he had) and he hit it right at the ‘keeper, twice.

Nothing much happened after that besides Zambrotta hitting the bar from distance as the players seemed somewhat resigned to a draw. Tomorrow’s game should be less interesting as the first eleven from today will probably only have sub spots. Expect Nordtveit to start. Clichy, Sagna, are the ‘regulars’ that would probably get a start tomorrow. It’s anyone’s guess who will start in goal.

You can watch the minute by minute updates of the match here. Post your thoughts on the match in the comment section below.

Marouane Chamakh has scored on his home debut to give Arsenal the lead against AC Milan in this year’s Emirates Cup.

Arshavin burst into life in the 36th minute, making an amazing run from midfield before playing a delightful through ball for Chamakh who was making a run behind the defence. The Moroccan slid in to finish the great move and give Arsenal a deserved lead.

Get live updates here.